The policies and politics of massification of university education in Nigeria, 1952-2000

by Anyanwu, Ogechi Emmanuel.

Abstract (Summary)

Apollos O. Nwauwa, Advisor
This study constitutes a history of the policies and politics surrounding the
massification of university education in Nigeria between 1952 and 2000. The concept of
massification as used in this study refers to a program of expansion of facilities and mass
access to university education in post-independent Nigeria. In 1948, the British colonial
administration in Nigeria established the first university, the University College of Ibadan
(UCI). However, from 1948 through 1959, the British consistently ignored the growing
demand for more access to university education. To address this problem, the Nigerian
government set up the Ashby Commission to study the country’s higher education needs
on the eve of independence. Following the report of the Commission, the Nigerian
government realigned university education policies and vigorously embarked on policies
of massification. This study shows that the policies and politics of massification were
embarked upon largely in response to the critical needs for human resources, economic
development, and national integration. Furthermore, it examines how the divergent and,
sometimes, inconsistent interests of the pluralistic society of Nigeria, the politics of oil
revenue and state creation, the ideologies of civilian/military governments and
international forces shaped policy initiatives, shifts, and outcomes of massification.
Between 1960 and 1983, successive civilian and military regimes controlled not
only university development but also policies of expansion of facilities and access to
university education for all Nigerians regardless of class, gender, ethnicity, and creed.
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However, the economic decline of 1983, the intervention of the military in governance,
and the implementation of the IMF/World Bank-induced Structural Adjustment Program
adversely affected the funding of universities. Consequently, universities facilities
deteriorated as the establishment of private universities in the 1980s and 1990s became a
welcome innovation. From 1959 to 2000, the number of universities increased from 1 to
45 while student enrolment concomitantly rose from 939 to 526,780. This study is not
merely a history of how universities were founded in post-independence Nigeria but it is
about how the formulation and implementation of official policies on human resource
development, economic advancement, and national integration are linked to the politics
and drama of massification of university education.
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To the blessed memory
of my mother,
Patience Anyanwu.
Your absence is ever present in my life. I love you.
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